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Film reviews

The Long Walk Review

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Based on the novel by Stephen King, director Francis Lawrence delivers a breathtaking masterpiece with The Long Walk. In thisfilm, survival and sacrificing everything has depth and meaning in every step of the way. Even though some may find the subject matter disturbing, the displays of connection and keeping those close just to survive is powerful. This is a poetic and moving thriller where emotions tackle each other. Cooper Hoffman is unbelievably good, and Mark Hamill is ferocious. The Long Walk is a ride filled with deaths, curiosities, and questions about what’s been accomplished upon reaching the end.

Hoffmann plays Raymond Garraty. Hamill plays The Major, the commander of this long, treacherous, and unexplainable walk. Raymond meets some friends along the way. The ones he holds close to him are Hank Olson (played by Ben Wang) and Peter McVries (David Jonsson). Some of the others on the walk are questionable characters, but that is something audiences will have to see for themselves. Going forward, Raymond has a mission. He wants to do this walk because he feels the politics in his life have impacted his family, and if he wins, he can change it all. However, as the days go by, more people on the walk die. Raymond and Peter begin to grow a closer bond of brotherhood. Every time someone stops along the walk, they are given three warnings, and if they do not continue, they are shot and eliminated.

The film is mesmerizing because it tests the waters of friendship and tolerance as it builds in intensity. A great deal of focus is on Raymond and Peter who keep at it while trying to help maintain each other’s momentum. Each time someone falls and fails in the race, my jaw dropped and my heart began to race. I felt the pain and the agony, and at the same time, I kept saying in my head, “Keep going!” That is what The Long Walk is all about. Resilience is the spirit throughout the entirety of this treacherous walk.

Despite the harsh subject matter, the encouragement to persist is intense. The film’s dazzling writing takes viewers into uncharted territory. Not only is there an award if the race is won, but walkers build connections which turn into a lasting brotherhood. The performances of Hoffmann and Jonnson, who are blood brothers, make The Long Walk heartbreaking and unforgettable. When one falls, they both will because sticking together goes a long way in The Long Walk. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.

Film reviews

Splitsville Review

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Monogamous and polyamorous relationships often spark conversations related to boundaries and other considerations. Watching the subject matter play out in a movie is a whole different experience. Splitsville is a comedy where love and arguments are intertwined in both fabulous and convoluted ways. The situations are fun yet sometimes repetitive, but no one wants to admit they are wrong.

There are intriguing dynamics with the different types of relationships explored in Splitsville. The film is written by and directed by Michael Angelo Covino. Kyle Marvin is a co-writer and is also one of the stars. Corvino plays Paul and Marvin plays Carey. The story begins with Carey and Ashley (played by Adria Arjona). Ashley wants a divorce from Carey. This promptsCarey to seek advice from Paul and Julie (played by Dakota Johnson). Once one relationship falls flat, many others begin to struggle as well. Issues related to love, sex, and commitments take their toll and result in a wild ride that is funny and clever. 

What I love about the setup and the direction of this film is the way the tone of the actors has them trying to remain cool and act normal. At the same time, however, anger and frustration is simmering. As the film lingers on, the dynamics and the affairs are not going as planned. New events occur. Scenarios involving characters sleeping with each other and making each other jealous add up to nothing pleasing anyone in Splitsville. It is a boiling pot of jealousy where openness is presented as fun at one point but then tolerance eventually is tested until it no longer exists. The writing in this experimental comedy has brilliance that I found intriguing and vivid.

Polyamorous and monogamous love may collapse in this film, but it is not a negative comedy. The story has a unique heartfelt side despite the multiple disasters. This is a gem of a film about friendships crossing boundaries but not wanting to step completely outside of them. The human elements of people being unwilling to change their morals, but experiencing the consequences are shown in a creative light in Splitsville. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.

Film reviews

American Sweatshop Review

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When it comes to what people post online, there is always an impact. It does not extend just to that person who posted or to the person who expands it to different audiences. It can go further and there are consequences if it is halted or disappears. From the mind of director Uta Briesewitz this is American Sweatshop.  I found this film to be a surreal portrait of technological impact in great detail. It is a cinematic jolt of how impactful social media and the internet in general can be—both haunting and mesmerizing. It is like a clock-ticking with curiosity and questions. Time is of the essence repeatedly for many of the online events in American Sweatshop. Earning tons of press in the SXSW Film Festival in 2024 in the Official Selection categories, American Sweatshop is finally finding its way to wider audiences.

The film is one that I find to be authentic and brilliant. At the same time, it is overwhelming in forcing viewers to think about how much they look at their screens to think about how much content they look at in a day. Think about how much positivity and negativity is seen. Then also think about how one must transition one’s mind to deal with each situation based upon what they see on the internet. That is all of what American Sweatshop is about.

The film stars a girl named Daisy, played by Lili Reinhart. She works as a dispatcher moderating social media. Her life entails trying to navigate the internet, keeping and deleting media in long shifts. She mostly deals with videos, many of which are graphic. She repeatedly sees multiple videos of cars falling over cliffs and the like–it mentally drains her. However, her role starts to impact her even more when she realizes that there are more creepy scenarios out there, and she finds herself in a bind. She cannot decide if she wants to report the footage she sees online to higher authorities. 

The film keeps its stressful momentum afloat. That is where its brilliance is flawless.  The characterization of Daisy creates asurrealism around the film’s main point. Her boss is Joy, played by Christiane Paul. Joy operates by the book and only wants Daisy to play by the rules, but Daisy’s workplace is filled with mixed patterns.  All the dispatchers respond differently to the scenarios put in front of them. The context of constantly dealing with emergencies from the outside world creates a vast world of stressors that are hard to interpret in American Sweatshop.

The film is one of those that shows what the damages of screen time can do to an individual. It also shows its impact on their lives outside of their workplace.  To an extent though, the mental awareness in the performance of Reinhart is stellar.  She knows that what she is seeing and approving is wrong, but the industry does not see it that way. The portrait of what goes on in the real world out there creates many questions for the future in American Sweatshop. I found myself intrigued with the process of the dispatcher and moderator direction in the social media sense presented in the film. The thoroughness of what they examine as a day job seemed especially obscure. A suspenseful and true ride of the realities of technology and trying to find the paths to  truths and provide measures of safety. A striking and poetic portrait of finding justice in the realm of social media hitting weird plateaus. American Sweatshop does it right. Four out of four stars.